Promises
by MysticWishes
Summary: In which promises are made on Christmas Eve. Oneshot.


**********Hey guys! Merry Christmas to y'all out there :) here's a short oneshot to help celebrate and as a present to all of you. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plotline.**

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It was the night before Christmas, and I could hear the distant melody of a piano coming from the music room of the Institute. I walked into the room and closed my eyes, leaning against one of the walls. I found myself swaying to the music, mesmerised, and I didn't realise the music had stopped until—

"Hey." I felt something tickle against my ear.

"Ahhh!" My eyes flew open and I jumped. Jace was standing right in front of me, doubled over in a fit of laughter.

"That wasn't cool. Was that really necessary?" I glared.

"Yup." He was still laughing. "You're so cute when you're angry." This caused me to glare at him even harder. "Anyway," I said. Jace was still recovering from his scare, "How'd you know it was me?"

"Well, it was pretty obvious since Izzy hates coming in here whenever I'm playing piano, and Alec only stands in the doorway whenever he comes up here. Anyway, your hair was a dead giveaway."

Screw my hair. Why did it have to stand out so much? Maybe I should dye it to something more subtle like blonde. Or brown could work too. I voiced my idea to Jace.

"Nah, redheads are more feisty," he said, smirking. "And I think you'd look better with red hair."

"Thanks." I replied sarcastically, and punched him in the shoulder, only to wince at the pain it caused my knuckles. He grinned mischievously at my failed attempt. Wait, did he just compliment me? "Since when did _you_ become the fashion expert?"

"Since forever. That's why all the girls love me, in case you didn't notice. Well that was before I was officially taken, and even now, when I'm with you."

I just rolled my eyes and sat down on the floor. Jace was still as arrogant as ever. I glanced up at him and couldn't stop admiring how his eyes shined, when the room was only illuminated by witchlight. As an artist of course. Although, I could see why the other girls would fall for him. They were like melting pools of honey that was impossible to escape from.

"Why are you staring at me like that? It's getting kind of creepy." Oops. I didn't realise I was literally getting lost in his eyes.

"No reason." I could feel my cheeks heating up, and hoped that he didn't notice. He walked over and sat on the floor next to me. I shivered, hoping he wouldn't notice. Apparently not.

"You cold?" I nodded. No pointed trying to deny it. Jace put an arm around my shoulders. Well that didn't go unnoticed.

It might've been my imagination, but Jace seemed more restless than normal. He kept on fidgeting with his hands, and I recognised it as one of his nervous habits. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied absentmindedly. I frowned. It wasn't very like Jace to be this distracted. I rested my head on his shoulder, and we made some more small talk. I almost drifted off several times, but I stopped myself before I could. It had begun snowing outside at some point. I was glad we'd have a white Christmas this year.

At some point though, I must've finally fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was woken by bells that had begun to chime in the distance.

Jace stirred beside me and smiled. Not his usual arrogant smile, but a genuine smile. He must've fallen asleep too. "Midnight. You know what that means?"

"Uh, it's midnight?" I said stupidly, for the lack of a better answer since I was pre-occupied of my thoughts. Not only had i just woken up, but damn, he smelled good, like cinnamon sugar. I could seriously just curl up here all night and — urgh, stop thinking how good Jace smells!

"Well duh, Captain obvious. It's officially Christmas is what I meant." Jace says.

How could I forget so quickly? "Merry Christmas to you too."

"Merry Christmas, Clary. I got you a present by the way." Oh shoot. I knew I had forgotten something. I started panicking internally as he handed me a small present wrapped in green wrapping paper. Would I still be a good girlfriend, even though I didn't get him anything?

"Thank you!" I eagerly tore the wrapping paper to shreds, in my haste to open the gift. "What is it?" I enquired. The wrapping paper had revealed a small retangular box. "It isn't a —oh!" I sat up straight. "That's so pretty!"

Inside the box was a silver necklace sitting on a red velvet cushion. The necklace had two small charms attached. One was in the shape of a rose. The rose itself was silver, and was about a centimetre in diameter. The other was a rune. I hadn't ever come across before, but it was shaped like two stems on a flower stalk.

"It's the promise rune." Well that explains why I never needed it before. "Here, I'll put it on for you." I handed him and he clasped it around my neck. "Done." He said. "That looks perfect."

I looked down at the rose and rune resting at the base of my throat. "It's meant to symbolise my dedication to you." He explained. "When I first lay my eyes on you in that storage closet in Pandemonium, I knew you were different to any other girl I'd met before. You were so stubborn and fierce, and you turned my world upside down. You managed to break the wall I had worked so hard to build and come into my heart. I had never trusted anyone so much from the moment I saw them, not even the Lightwoods. It was then I knew that there was no turning back. When I found out we were siblings, I was devastated. It never felt _right. _I was so overjoyed when i discovered that we were never related, and it was just a trick of Valentines. Then when I was possessed by Sebastian, you were the one that kept me fighting. You are my anchor, my _everything_, to this world, and I can't live without you Clary. This is my way of promising you that I will always be here for you, because I can't bear to lose you. I love you with all my heart, and it will always remain that way," Jace finished, his expression completely serious.

I was taken aback slightly. Of course, I'd felt the same way when Valentine messed with us, but I didn't know that I had affected him in that way even at the beginning. After that rant, I felt even more guilty that I didn't get him a present.

"Jace. When I first saw you at Pandemonium, I thought you were heartless. Then when I met you again, I thought you were a jerk, but not the cold-blooded killer that I thought you were. You grew on me however, and eventually, I couldn't stop thinking how I wished we could be together. I was pretty devastated when Valentine told us we were siblings. I was so confused and Simon was more of a best friend that a boyfriend. I didn't know what to do. I figured I had to find a way to prove that we weren't related. Then when you were possessed by Sebastian, I was so desperate for the real you to come back."

"Well thank goodness that's all over now," Jace sighed. "Hopefully, we can have a bit of peace before something majorly disastrous looms upon us again."

"Yeah, I was wondering when we'd finally get some downtime. It is Christmas after all." I said as I settled against him once more.

After all that he said to me, I felt even worse. Time to step up my game.

"Ididngeyouapresen." I said as fast as I could.

Jace looked confused. "What did you just say?"

"I didn't get you a present and I feel really bad because you got me that necklace and—"

"Clary, I don't need a present from you." He stopped me halfway through my blabbering. "Well, a present is always welcome, but _you_ are the best thing that has happened to me, and you being here is a gift in itself. So don't feel bad about not getting me a gift," he added at my guilty expression, "because I don't need one. I have you." He started leaning forwards. "This is a better present than anything you can give me."

With that, he leaned in and his lips crashed onto mine. In that moment, I wanted to stay locked like this forever, entwined. Eventually we parted, gasping for air. I had forgotten to breathe. I glanced up and realised something was missing.

"What about the mistletoe?"

"What?" Jace looked up to where I was staring. "Who needs mistletoe to script what we do?" With that, we lean in simultaneously and kiss.

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******I'm sorry if there are any mistakes in this. Just mention it to me and I'll fix it up as soon as I can. And sorry it's kinda rushed as well. **

**Please review as a present? :)**


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